Safety device for elevators.



H. BLEYMEHL.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 22. 1913. y 1,196,923. Patented sept. 5,1916.V

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HENRY BLEYMEHL, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

Application filed November 22, 1913.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, HENRY BLEYMEHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Elevators, of which the following isl a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates t0 safety mechanism for automatically stopping elevators or lifts whenever the supporting rope breaks, and thus preventing the car from falling.

The object of my invention is to construct a suitable device of this character that is adapted to be manually oper-ated by the elevator attendant in the case of an emergency arising that requires the stopping of the car to avoid injury to the passengers or the elevator.

Another object is to so arrange the parts of the device that it will operate automatically to hold the car in the event of the control cable breaking or getting out of order.

These and other objects I accomplish by the means and in the manner hereinafter fully described and as particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein- Figure l is a vertical front elevation of an elevator car or lift platform of the freight type showing my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof taken on line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 lis an enlarged detail sectional view showing one of the brake-shoes or wedges and its manner of operation. Figs. 4; and 5 are detail perspective views of the latch and slide used in connection with my improved safety device.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters .indicate similar parts in the various figures, I show an elevator. of

the usual well-known type having a suitable rectangular shaped'frame-work consisting of an upper cross-beam A, vertically disposed parallel uprights or standards secured at their upper ends to said crossbeam, and a substantially rectangular shaped platform or iioor C carried by the lower ends of said uprights by means of suitable sills C. These standards B, preferably, have guides in their outer edges that engage the vertical parallel tracks E, E, .on oppositesides .of the elevator shaft. The,

Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented Sept. 5, 1916.

serial No. 802,358.

elevator is suspended by the usual cable that passes around a pulley or drum F journaled 'in lthe ends of a substantially U-shaped strap or yoke that is slidably mounted in a guide frame I-I secured to the central portion of the cross-beam of the cage, substantially as shown. rlhe mot-ive power mechanism for winding and unwinding said hoisting cables is controlled by manipulating an operating or pull-rope J. The parts of the elevator, above described, are of any usual and well-known construction, and I make no claim herein to the same.

My invention comprises, however, suitable shoes or wedges l, 1, that are adapted to be automatically wedged against the track E between the same and the guides D of -the elevator whenever, through accident or' otherwise, the elevator is liable to fall. These shoes are, preferably, acute triangular shaped cast-metal blocks, two sides of which are at right angles to each other. rlhe surface of the shoes forming the vertical vside thereof constitutes the gripping surface 2 of the same and it is, preferably, serrated or provided with downwardly projecting spurs or teeth 3, while the opposite face (or hypotenuse of the triangle) is, preferably,

.provided with a vertically elongated socket or recess t that is adapted to be engaged by the adjacent outer end'of an operating lever, and there is, preferably, one shoe for each of 4the vertical parallel tracks E, before lmentioned.

Shoes 1 are mounted in and carried by suitable boxes 5 bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the upper surface of the ends of the cross-beam of the elevator,`and each of these boxes, preferably, comprises a h ollow metal wedge-shaped casting the interior of which corresponds to substantially the shape of the shoes excepting that the side .thereof adjacent the track is left open to permit the shoes to engage the tracks their entire length, and the opposite side thereof is provided with a vertically .elongated slot to permit the passage therethrough of the operating lever. Y

The means employed for actuating the shoes or wedges l, preferably, comprise suitable mechanism that will now be described. The lower bend of the U-shaped strap or yoke 6, in the ends of* which the shaft of pulley F is journaled is provided with a depending eye in which one end of a CIJ short length of cable 7 or the like is secured. This cable passes downwardly and under a suitable pulley 8 that is rotatably mounted in suitable hangers secured to and depending from the under surface of cross-beam A, and the end of said cable opposite the yoke is connected to the lower end of a vertically disposed link 9. This link 9 is vertically its lower end to cross-beam A, and is held against the same by a guide strap or plate 141. A bell-crank lever 15 is pivotally mounted adjacent the lower end of trip 13 and it is so arranged that its shorter upwardly extending curved arm engages the trip 13, and its longer horizontally disposed arm has its end resting upon a lateral lug or stop 16 mounted on and carried by the link 9.

In order to actuate the mechanism just described, I prefer to employ a counter-balance trip-rope 17 that has one end terminated adjacent the pivoted end of bar 11 and is provided with a ring 18 through which said bar is adapted to be inserted. This trip-rope is independent of the hoisting cables of the car and the same extends to the top of the elevator shaft or well, where it passes over a pair of idle pulleys 19 and 20, and below the latter pulley said cable is attached to an independent counter-balance weight 21 that is guided in suitable tracks 22 in the weight-shaft of the elevator. Adjacent the end oftrip-rope 17 nearest the bar 11 a slack rope or leader 23 is secured thereto which has its lower end attached to the outer extended end of a substantially horizontally disposed arm 24 which latter is adjustably secured to horizontally disposed rock-shaft 25 mounted, preferably, on top of the crossbeam. The operating levers 26 for the wedge shoes are mounted on the ends of this rock-shaft and project therefrom on the same side as said arm 24 and when said arm 24 is raised the levers 26 will be correspondingly raised and the shoes 1 wedged against the track.

In operation and under normal conditions the weight 21 will keep the short cable 7 taut around its pulley, thus retaining' the free end of bar 11 under the trip and the lateral lug just touching the longer arm of the bell crank. However, when the hoisting cable breaks the tension on short cable 7 will pull down the hoist pulley in its guide, thus permitting trip-rope 17 to raise the vertical link 9 an integral lug on which in turn moves the longer arm of bellcrank 15. The raising of the longer arm of the bell-crank causes the shorter arm thereof to move the trip 13 off the end of bar 11 leaving it free to be elevated to a vertical position by the force of gravity exerted through the weight 21 until the pendent ring 18 on the lower end of trip rope 17 has slid off or nearly off the same. This movement tightens the heretofore slack leader rope 23 and pulls the arm 24E upwardly thereby rocking shaft 25 sufliciently to move the shoes or wedges 1, 1, at each end thereof into engagement with the tracks and when the said shoes are wedged tightly the car will be stopped and the danger of a fall averted.

Another' manner of operating the shoes 1 is through the medium of the control cable J. Where this cable extends through the cage it, preferably, passes under and over a pair of idle-pulleys 27 and 28, the latter of which is mounted on a stationary axis 29, while the former (27) is mounted between suitable bifurcations 30 in the pivoted end of a lever 31. This lever is, preferably, inclined and is fulcrumed. at its upper end upon the same axis 29 as pulley 28, and when the control cable is properly adjusted the ,lower end thereof will occupy a position somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In this position, the cable J is free to pass through the car in the usual manner and around the pulleys, but whenever a break occurs in said cable the tension will be released and the weight of lever 31 will cause the latter to drop and in so doing its lower movable end will strike a lug or bracket 32 on the adjacent lower end of a longitudinally slidable vertically disposed rod 33. This rod 33 extends from near the ioor of the car to near the crossbeam A, as shown, and is guided by suitable holders or bearing plates 34 secured to and projecting laterallyfrom the side wall of the car.

A bell-crank lever 35 pivotally mounted in a hanger projecting` from cross-beam A has one of its arms pivotally connected to the upper end of rod 33 while the opposite arm of said bell-crank is connected to an actuating rod or pull-cord 36 which extends in a substantially horizontal direction to and is. connected to the upper movable end of the trip 13. Thus it will be seen that any break in the control rope will release lever 31 which falls and strikes lug 32 causing rod 33 to gravitate and rock the bell-crank 35, which in turn moves trip 13 sufficiently to release and discharge the same from bar 11 which, owing to the pull of the counterbalance 21 on the end of the trip rope 17, will be raised until the ring 18 becomes dis- .engaged and the slack leader rope 23 becomes taut so as to operate the rock-shaft 25 and the shoes 1 in the manner first described.

Occasions may arise where it becomes necessary to stop the car, as for example, in an emergency where the cables do not break nor become inoperative, and in order to takev `is rocked and the rest of the mechanism will operate in the same manner as when the control cable breaks.

iiVhile 1 have herein described and illustrated certain specific elements and arrangement of parts, it, of course, is obvious that many modilications thereof are possible without departing from the spirit of my invention. 1 desire it understood, therefore, that any such change, modification, or substitution of equivalent elements is included within 'the scope of my invention as set forth in the claims.

.Vhat 1 claim as new is:

l. The combination with an elevator, of a hoisting cable therefor', and suitable'guide tracks, a control rope, a lever for said control rope, shoes carried by said elevator, and devices for causing said shoes to engage and wedge against said tracks comprising .a rock-shaft for moving said shoes, a counterweighted trip-rope, having operative ccn-l nection to said rock-shaft, a pivoted bar to which said rope is removably secured, and a trip adapted to be actuated by said control lever and engaging the movable end of said bar whereby said rope is released from said bar and rocks said shaft.

2. The combination with an elevator, of a hoisting cable therefor, and suitable guidetracks, of shoes carried by said elevator, and devices for causing said shoes to engage and wedge against said tracks comprising a rock-shaft for moving saidlshoes, a counterweightedtrip-rope, a slackleader attached to and connecting said rope to said rockshaft, a pivoted bar to which said rope is removably secured, and a trip adapted to be operated from within the elevator car and engaging the movable end of said bar whereby said rope is released from said bar and causes said leader Ito tighten and thereby rock said shaft. Y

3. The combination with an elevator, of a hoisting cable therefor', guide-tracks for said elevator, shoes carried by said elevator, means constructed and arranged to cause said shoes to engage and wedge against said guide-tracks including a rock-shaft operatively connected to said shoes, a counter weighted trip-rope, a plvotal bar to which said trip-rope is secured, a vertically movable link to which said bar is pivoted, means controlled by the vertical movement of the link for effecting the release of said pivotal bar, a normally slack leader connecting said trip-rope to said rock-shaft, and means connecting said vertically movable link to the hoisting cables whereby said hoisting-cables control the operation of said link.

d. The combination with an elevator, a hoisting cable therefor, and suitable guidetracks, of shoes carried by said elevator, and devices for causing said shoes to engage and wedge against said tracks comprising a rockshaft for lmoving said shoes, a counterweighted trip-rope, a normally idle connection between said rock-shaft and said triprope., a pivoted bar to which said rope is removably secured, a vertically movable link that pivotally supports said bar, a trip engaging the movable end of said bar, and a bell-crank/one arm of which engages said trip and the other arm of which is actuated by the movement of said link.

5. The combination with an elevator', a hoisting cable therefor-,and suitable guidetracks, of shoes carried by said elevator, and devices for causing said shoes to engage and wedge against said tracks comprising a roekshaft for moving said shoes, a counter'- weighted trip-rope, a slack leader attached to and connecting said rope to said rockshaft, a pivoted bar to which said rope is removably secured, a vertically movable link that pivotally supports said bar, a trip engaging .the movable end of said bar, and a bell-crank one arm of which engages said trip and the other arm-of which is actuated by thev movement of said link whereby said trip-rope is released from said bar and causes said leader to tighten and thereby rock said shaft.

6. The combination with an elevator, a ho-isting cable therefor, and suitable guide tracks, of shoes carried by said elevator, and devices for causing said shoes to engage and wedge against said tracks comprising a. rock-shaft for moving said shoes, a counterweighted trip-rope, a normally idler connection between said rock-shaft and said tripvrope, a plvoted bar to `whichsaid rope 1s removably secured, a vertically movable link having its upper end pivotally supporting said bar, flexible means indirectly connecting the lower end of said link to said cable,

and a trip engaging the movable end of said bar that is operated by the movement of said link whenever said cable breaks to release said bar and-rock said shaft.

7. The combination with an elevator.l a hoisting cable therefor, and suitable guide tracks, of shoes carried by said elevator, and devices for causing said shoes to engage and wedge against said tracks comprising a rock-shaft for moving said shoes, a counter-Weighted trip rope, a slack leader attached to and connecting said rope to said rock-shaft, a pivoted bar to Which said rope is removably secured, a vertically movable link having its upper end pivotally supporting said bar, flexible means indirectly connecting the lower end of said link to said cable, and a trip engaging the movable end of said bar that is operated by the movement of said link Whenever said cable breaks to release said vertically movable link and to engage said leader and thereby rock said shaft. I

8. The combination With an elevator, of a hoisting cable for said elevator, guidetracks for said elevator, shoes carried by said elevator, means constructed and arranged to cause saidshoes to engage and Wedge against said guide-tracks including a rock-shaft operatively connected to Said shoes, a normally taut trip-rope, ay normally slack leader connecting said trip-rope to said rock-shaft, and means actuated from Within the elevator controlling said triprope. f

9. The combination With an elevator, of a hoisting cable for said elevator, guide-tracks for said elevator, shoes carried by said elevator, means constructed and arranged to cause said shoes to engage and Wedge against said guide-tracks includin" a rockshaft operatively connected to saic shoes, a normally taut trip-rope, a trip adapted to release said trip-rope, a normally slack leader connecting said trip-rope to said rock-shaft, and means actuated from Within the elevator controlling said trip-rope.

10. lThe combination With an elevator, of a hoisting cable for said elevator, a slidably mounted pulley for said hoisting cable adapted to move When the hoisting cable an elevator, of a shdably mounted pulley for said hoisting cable adapted to move When the hoisting cable breaks, a control-rope for said elevator, guide-tracks for said elevator, shoes carried by said elevator and constructed and arranged to engage and Wedge against said guide-tracks, a rock-shaft operatively connected to said shoes, a normally horizontally disposed arm carried by said rock-shaft, a normally taut trip-rope, a normally slack leader connected to said trip-rope and normally horizontally disposed arm, and means adapted to release said trip rope; one of said means being adapted to be operated by the breaking of the hoisting cable, another by the breaking of the control rope and another being manually operated from Within the elevator.

ln Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of October, 1913.

HENRY BLEYMEHL. Witnesses E. K. LUNDY, KENNETH M. HOLDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centsreach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington. D. C. v 

